SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMPETITION, CHARITIES AND TREASURY
SENATOR FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA
MEDIA RELEASE
07 November 2024
NO RELIEF FOR AUSTRALIAN SHOPPERS THIS CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS
There’ll be no price relief at the checkout this Christmas and summer holidays thanks to Labor’s go slow on supermarkets reform.
Treasury officials confirmed during Senate Estimates that Albanese Government initiatives aimed at lowering grocery prices won’t be implemented until April 2025.
Senator Smith requested a timeline for changes to the Food and Grocery Code and other recommendations of the Emerson Review agreed to by the Government.
Officials confirmed a mandatory Food and Grocery Code would not come into force until 1 April 2025 – and that the anonymous complaints mechanism and new Code Supervisor would only be operational once the mandatory Code was implemented.
They also confirmed consultation on Unit Pricing Code reforms announced by the Prime Minister on 2 October would not begin until the first quarter of next year, with the reforms themselves not expected until later in 2025.
Despite the Government announcing in June that it would accept all recommendations of the Emerson Review, Treasury stated none of Labor’s various initiatives to improve competition and transparency in the Australian supermarket sector would be operational before April 2025.
The result is that Australian consumers already battling the cost of living crisis are left exposed at what is traditionally one of the most expensive times of the year.
As the Reserve Bank of Australia noted in its Statement on Monetary Policy released this week, “underlying inflation remains too high” and any reduction in food and grocery inflation has been brought on by “current demand conditions”.
So as shoppers begin to spend more in preparation for the Festive Season, they are likely to face increased price pressure – all without any remedy from the Albanese Government and its stalled policies.
Given Labor announced it would accept all recommendations of the Emerson Review in June this year, it will be almost 12 months before it is implemented.
This makes no allowance for the upcoming election, which could be as early as March or late as May, and which risks blowing out the implementation date further still.
Comments attributable to Senator Dean Smith:
“Labor is taking Australians for April fools with these delayed reforms, which are desperately needed now rather than April next year – if we even see them then.”
“As Christmas approaches, with ample evidence of food stress and Australians doing it tough, the Albanese Government has left Australian shoppers without grocery price relief when they need it most.”
“Contrast this to the Coalition’s clear, targeted policy to improve supermarket sector competition and deliver improved outcomes for both consumers and suppliers.”
“Jim Chalmers, Andrew Leigh, and the entire Albanese Government must now explain to Australians why its Christmas gift to the nation is higher grocery prices.”
ENDS